Product: Northern Pintail 2008-2009 (Current Permit)

Northern Pintail 2008-2009 (Current Permit)

Northern Pintail 2008-2009 (Water-Activated)

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Issue Type: Commemorative

Issue City: Hanover, MD 21076

Issue Date: June 27, 2008

Items
Northern Pintail 2008-2009 (Current Permit)
Format
NOT VALID FOR POSTAGE
Water-Activated
Price: $15.00 - $300.00

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This is a water–activated Northern Pintail Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, the 2008-2009 issuance in the Federal Duck Stamp series. It is sold as either a single stamp, a block of 4 stamps, or a full pane of 20 stamps.

On June 27, 2008, in Hanover, Maryland, the U.S. Department of the Interior issued the $15 Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp for the 2008-2009 waterfowl hunting season. The stamp is on sale at Post Offices™ nationwide from June 27, 2008, and is valid through June 29, 2009.

Seventy-five years ago, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked J.N. “Ding” Darling to serve as Chief of the National Biological Survey, the precursor to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. History sometimes provides the right person at the right time and Darling would prove a perfect fit. America’s wetlands were drying up or being drained and waterfowl population numbers plummeted below 27 million nationwide, a record low. Alarmed waterfowl hunters and other conservationists knew there was no time to waste.

Pulitzer-prize winning editorial cartoonist, hunter, passionate wildlife conservationist, and visionary, Darling unhesitatingly put his considerable influence and stature to good use, taking on the important challenge of convincing Congress to pass legislation designed to help protect waterfowl habitat. In 1934, thanks to his unstinting efforts and strong support from waterfowl hunters, Congress passed the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act and, on March 16, 1934, President Roosevelt signed it into law.

As Biological Survey Chief, Darling created one of America’s most successful conservation programs, the Federal Duck Stamp Program. Ever the artist, he illustrated his vision for the new Duck Stamp, drawing a pair of mallards landing in a wetland. This picture graced the very first Federal Duck Stamp.

On August 14, 1934, Darling bought the first stamp from the U.S. Postmaster General, paying $1.00. First year sales raised $635,000 for wetland conservation; since then thanks to collectors, hunters and conservationists, Duck Stamp sales have raised $700 million which has been used to buy 5 million acres of wetlands for the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Besides conserving wetlands, Darling’s Duck Stamp Program has given this country another gift—one of the world’s foremost waterfowl art competitions. Until 1949, waterfowl artists were invited to submit entries. A committee of waterfowl experts privately judged the entries and selected the winning design. In 1949, for the first time, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service held a public contest, opening up the competition. In October 2007, the Federal Duck Stamp Contest was held in Darling’s beloved Sanibel, Florida, and a distinguished jury panel selected the design for the 75th Federal Duck Stamp, a pair of pintail ducks by Minnesota artist Joseph Hautman.

Text above is taken from the 75th Anniversary Federal Duck Stamp Program Commemorative Pane of 2, featuring both the 2008-2009 Northern Pintails stamp as well as a replica of the first Duck Stamp issued in 1934.

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